Walt Rubel Commentary: Business as usual in Santa Fe

It was a bad day for good government Friday.

Faced with a choice between the people of New Mexico who she has taken a vow to serve and the big-moneyed lobbyists who have been in her ear for the last six years, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham went against the people.

She vetoed a bill that would have required lobbyists to inform the public as to which side they are working on any bill. That information would have been included along with other information about the bill on the Legislature’s website, making it easy for New Mexicans to see how much money was being spent, and who was spending it.

In her veto message, Lujan Grisham claims she supports the intent of the bill. That’s no surprise. Even elected officials in their final term have to at least pay lip service to the notion of government transparency.

The governor claims it would be “onerous” for lobbyists to file reports within 48 hours, even on weekends and holidays. After covering the Legislature for four sessions, I can report with certainty that lobbyists are working on weekends and holidays. Reports could be filed on the computer in a matter of minutes.

She also makes a bizarre argument that if lobbyists have to report changes in their position, elected officials should have to do the same in some kind of written report.

We want our senators and representatives to go into policy discussions with an open mind and be receptive to persuasive arguments from all sides. That’s how we get the best outcomes. We should be more concerned about the lawmakers who never change their position.

Lujan Grisham said she will seek a bill next year. We’ll see what that looks like and how it fares. I suspect she’s just looking for cover.

Co-sponsors Sen. Jeff Steinborn and Rep. Sarah Silva vow to keep trying, but it was a long, hard slog to get the bill through to the governor this year, and there are no assurances of success next time. The cozy relationship between lobbyists and lawmakers in Santa Fe is something both sides would rather not talk about in public.

What we know for sure is that it continues to be business as usual in Santa Fe, and that’s not a good thing.

The lobbyists bill was one of several disappointing vetoes issued last week by the governor. Another one nixed a bill that would have created a new state park at Slot Canyon.

In her veto message on that bill, the governor claims we just don’t have the money. Other parks are understaffed, so it would just make the problem worse to create a new one, she said. The state budget this year was $33.1 billion, an increase of 13.5 percent. We have enough money to fund state parks if we wanted to.

Slot Canyon Riverlands State Park would have provided an economic boost for the county and new opportunities for hikers, who now have to cross over a fence to reach the site. The veto was short-sighted and goes against critical state efforts to diversify our economy and reduce our dependence on oil and gas revenue.


Walter Rubel can be reached at [email protected]

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